Chapter 3 Concerned Father Plus He Thinks There is a Mystery Afoot

Mark walked into the office at the main building on campus. He went to the Registrar's office to see if there were any postings regarding the murder and did not see any. Then he went by the office of the President. He spoke with her for a couple of minutes and then went to the building for Campus Police.

As he walked out of the building, the campus bus drove by. There were not that many students on it. Most tended to walk to their classes. The surrounding parking lots were almost full and the spots in front of College Hall were full.

Students milled about in different states of dress. He saw one student who appeared as if he had slept in his clothes the night before. As he walked by, he got a whiff of the alcohol and said to himself, "Yep, he drank the night before." Of course, the night before was a Sunday so it was still the weekend.

He walked towards the building that housed campus police and walked in. He saw Sgt. Marks and went up to speak with him. He had helped him out in a previous motor vehicle accident, which involved him going to court for a ticket.

"Hi Grey, how are you doing? My little girl came home to me and was rather upset."

"Sorry about that Mark. Many students saw that body and they should not have. It wasn't meant to be made public."

"Can you tell me what happened or let me know if you have an idea?"

"No, we are at a loss too," the telephone rang interrupting the conversation. "Please excuse me. Montclair Police are supposed to be calling to schedule a meeting between Montclair, Clifton, and Bloomfield."

Mark asked, "Why Bloomfield?"

"They had a similar incident at their college last month. They think it is the same guy."

"Well, I'll let you take your telephone call. I am going to just walk around and see what I see. See you in a little bit."

Mark smiled to himself. Grey was already deeply involved in the conversation. He did not even see him leave.

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He walked up the road towards Ranier Building, past the amphitheater and the library. As he approached the building, he saw the food truck outside the front. He made some good food when you were hungry. In addition, it helped him not to go to the Rat. He is an Alumni of Jameson University prior to it becoming a university. He along with his deceased wife both graduated in 1967 and were married that same year. They had their precious bundle of joy, Charlotte the next year. In addition, neither one of them ever looked back with any regrets.

So much had changed since he went to school there. Hell, so much had changed since his daughter first attended school there. He was amazed. He looked at the immaculately manicured grass, and the paved sidewalks, the flowers on the side, and the many filled parking lots. He turned to enter the building.

The first thing he always notices is whether or not there are people sitting on the benches reading, talking, or writing. The next thing he notices is the bulletin board. It is a good barometer for what is happening on campus over the next couple of months and it gives you ideas for work and other things. He walked towards the two elevators in the back and pushed the button for the fourth floor. He would go up to the History Department and see who was around. He liked some of the professors there and had represented some of them for traffic tickets. The two doors opened and Prof. Alison James walked out. She saw him and stopped.

"Mark, how are you? I have not seen you since Jolie died," said Prof. James.

"I am doing fine. How's the husband, Chris, isn't it?" asked Mark.

"It's Chris. He is fine. Sick. He has H.I.V. We just switched his medicine." responded Alison.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope it goes well," said Mark.

"So why are you here business?" asks Alison.

"Business. You know my daughter, Charly. I believe you have her in class for Christianity Studies and for Historical Studies of Man's Development." Mark stopped waiting for her acknowledgment.

"I know her. What happened?" asked Alison.

"A student's dead body was found in the library. Her throat was slit," stated Mark.

"I had heard about that. Sad. Do you need anything from me?" again asked Alison.

"No, I'll let you know. I have a meeting," said Mark.

"Join us for dinner tonight. Chris would like to see you. Unless you are still phobic?" she questions Mark.

In response, Mark answered, "Touché! I'll see."